Bradenham, Norfolk

Bradenham
St Mary's Church, now redundant
Bradenham Location within Norfolk
Area	16.55 km2 (6.39 sq mi)
Population	695 (2021 census)
•  Density	42/km2 (110/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF 9208
Civil parish	Bradenham
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Thetford
Postcode district	IP25
Dialling code	01362/01760
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Mid Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°38′24″N0°50′38″E / 52.640°N 0.844°E / 52.640; 0.844

Bradenham is a village and civil parish, a conglomeration of East and West Bradenham, in the English county of Norfolk.

Bradenham is situated some 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of the town of Dereham and 19 miles (31 km) west of the city of Norwich. ^[1]

History

Bracon Ash's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a 'broad or spacious village. ^[2]

In the Domesday Book, Bradenham is recorded as a settlement of 53 households in the hundred of Greenhoe. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of William de Warenne, Ralph of Tosny and Ralph Baynard. ^[3]

Huntingfield Hall Farmhouse, just off Mill Street, dates from the Sixteenth Century and has been Grade II listed since 1951. ^[4]

In the Mid-Eighteenth Century, West Bradenham Hall was built. It was owned by the Haggard family and was the birthplace of H. Rider Haggard, it is also rumoured that Admiral Nelson stayed at the house. ^[5]

During the Second World War, a decoy airfield was built in the village. ^[6]

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bradenham has a population of 695 people which shows a slight decrease from the 700 people recorded in the 2011 census. ^[7]

The River Wissey rises in Bradenham and flows to the west whilst the River Yare rises to the east of Bradenham and flows to the east.

Amenities within the village include George Tufts & Son Ltd., a builder's merchants. ^[8]

St. Andrew's Church

West Bradenham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and located on Church Lane. The church is early Medieval in origin and features stained-glass windows depicting the Gospels by the O'Connor Brothers and an east window depicting the Crucifixion of Christ by William Wailes. ^[9] The church has been Grade I listed since 1960. ^[10]

St. Mary's Church

Main article: St Mary's Church, East Bradenham

East Bradenham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and is located on Church Street. St. Mary's has been redundant since 1973 and features small amounts of stained glass designed by the O'Connor Brothers. ^[11] The church has been Grade I listed since 1960. ^[12]

Notable Residents

• Sir H. Rider Haggard KBE- (1856-1925) writer and land reformer.

Governance

Bradenham is part of the electoral ward of Saham Toney for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman since 2010.

War Memorial

West Bradenham's War Memorial takes the form of a small marble plaque in St. Mary's Church ^[13] whilst East Bradenham's takes the form of a larger marble plaque in St. Andrew's Church. ^[14] Combined, the memorials list the following men from the First World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration / Burial
Capt.	R. Lancelot Haggard	No. 3 Company, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry	30 October 1917	British Cemetery, Passendale
Capt.	Mark Haggard	2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment	15 September 1914	British Cemetery, Vendresse
Cpl.	Edward Dack	21st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force	9 April 1917	Lichfield Crater, Thélus
Dvr.	Walter Barnard	2nd (Depot) Company, Army Service Corps	21 February 1915	Greenwich Cemetery
Gnr.	John R. E. Wheals	121st (Heavy) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery	2 October 1917	Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Pvt.	Allen Fawkes	7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment	1 July 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pvt.	John T. Cater	7th Battalion, Border Regiment	4 November 1916	Grove Town Cemetery, Méaulte
Pvt.	Herbert Thacker	8th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment	17 March 1916	St. Pierre Cemetery, Amiens
Pvt.	Edward Coppen	2/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers	9 October 1917	Tyne Cot
Pvt.	Alfred Fawkes	2nd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment	6 May 1916	Kirkee Memorial
Pvt.	Ernest E. Buckenham	1/4th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt.	19 April 1917	Jerusalem Memorial
Pvt.	George Buckenham	7th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt.	5 November 1915	Loos Memorial
Pvt.	Sidney Coppen	11th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters	19 October 1917	Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Rfn.	George Stebbings	9th (Queen Victoria's Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment	9 October 1916	Thiepval Memorial

And: Stephen Basham, William Brown, John Tarrant, Frederick Cooper, Herbert Dack, James Fawkes, George Papworth, William Spilman and Robert Watts.

References

1. Ordnance Survey (1999). OS Explorer Map 237 – Norwich. ISBN   0-319-21868-6.
2. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
3. "[East and West] Bradenham | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
4. "HUNTINGFIELD HALL FARMHOUSE, Bradenham - 1342619 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
5. "mnf8718 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
6. "mnf13552 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
7. "Bradenham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
8. "George Tufts & Son Ltd | Bradenham, Norfolk". George Tufts & Son Ltd. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
9. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
10. "CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, Bradenham - 1342620 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
11. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
12. "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Bradenham - 1151958 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
13. "War Memorial , West Bradenham, Norfolk, England: memorial indexed by Gravestone Photographic Resource Project (GPR)". www.gravestonephotos.com. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
14. Knott, Simon (22 July 2007), war memorial, archived from the original on 11 November 2024, retrieved 11 November 2024

External links

• Map sources for Bradenham, Norfolk
• Information from Genuki Norfolk on East Bradenham and West Bradenham.